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Illegal Dumping

Pinal County Environmental Health Services responds to citizen complaints of illegal dumping in the unincorporated areas of the county. Pinal County does not provide collection or cleanup services, but we work with property owners to affect cleanup of their property.

What is illegal dumping? Illegal dumping is the act of storing or disposing of any waste anywhere other than an approved landfill or transfer station. Criminal violations carry penalties ranging from $500.00 to incarceration in prison for up to 1.5 year. Civil penalties range from the cost of a minor clean up, to $1,000.00 per day per violation.

The dangers of illegal dumping Illegal dumping often occurs close to inhabited communities. Children, who play, ride bikes, or walk in the area may be exposed to dangerous objects such as syringes from medical waste, glass, sharp metal and toxic chemicals. In addition the community is exposed to disease carrying insects and rodents such as mosquitoes, flies and cockroaches, rats, mice and other nuisance pests that are attracted to the waste.

The cost of illegal dumping A dumpsite is a magnet for additional dumping and if left unchecked can cause property values to decrease and the land can become unattractive to developers. If the government has to pay the cost of cleaning up illegal dump sites, transporting the trash to the landfill, and landfill fees, ultimately the costs will be passed on to our citizens through higher service and permit fees and property taxes.

What you can do to help You can help stop illegal dumping by reporting it. As soon as possible after witnessing an offense, or finding an illegal dumpsite call Pinal County Environmental Health Services to report a complaint at -520-866-6864. Please be ready to identify the location as accurately as possible. Try to identify the person or company that did the illegal dumping along with a description of the vehicle(s) used and the license plate number. Describe what you saw and what was dumped. If you are witnessing an illegal dumping in progress, please contact the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department at (520) 866-5111.